US-China Bridge

Bangkok, Thailand has just successfully organized an extraordinary meeting between US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Experts say this is an affirmation of the position of Thailand in particular and ASEAN in general in independent foreign policy.

Chinese tourists visit the Thai Grand Palace in 2023. Photo: BANGKOK POST

Competition between the two superpowers, the US and China, has intensified in recent years on economic, security and military fronts . According to Benjamin Zawacki, author of Thailand: Shifting Ground Between the US and Rising China, this meeting illustrates how both Washington and Beijing view Thailand's role.

During their meeting in Thailand, Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Wang discussed a range of geopolitical issues, including Iran, clashes around the Red Sea, security in the Taiwan Strait, Myanmar, North Korea, and the situation in the South China Sea. Both pledged to stay in touch on sensitive topics. Further talks are also planned. Accordingly, US President Joe Biden is expected to have a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the spring and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to visit Beijing in the coming months.

For Thai officials, in addition to the results of the meeting, this can be considered a great geopolitical victory and a reaffirmation of the policy of not taking sides of Thailand in particular and ASEAN in general according to the principle of being a friend of all countries, not an enemy of anyone. Particularly for the new Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin personally, the presence of a high-ranking US official in Bangkok can be considered a warming up of relations between Washington and Bangkok after a long period of coldness. Before Mr. Srettha Thavisin was elected Prime Minister, Washington reduced security cooperation and withdrew millions of dollars in military aid to Thailand. After Mr. Srettha became prime minister, relations improved enough to allow the Thai prime minister to meet briefly with US President Biden at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in 2023. Before the Bangkok talks with Mr. Wang, Mr. Sullivan met with his host Prime Minister Srettha and several members of Mr. Srettha’s cabinet.

Like many other ASEAN members, Thailand now enjoys good relations with both the US and China. China is Thailand’s largest trading partner, with trade to reach $135 billion by 2023. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, Chinese nationals accounted for about 11 million of the record 39 million international visitors to Thailand in 2019. During a visit to Bangkok, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Thai counterpart Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara signed a visa-free agreement to make it easier for Thai and Chinese citizens to travel to each other’s country.

According to analysts, over the years, countries in the region have witnessed the increasingly deteriorating relationship between the two most powerful countries in the world with considerable concern. For ASEAN, it would be better if the US-China competition were healthy. Therefore, the above meeting and many upcoming high-level meetings between the US and China make Southeast Asia hope that the two superpowers will continue to dialogue instead of confrontation.

KHANH MINH

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